Fragments Returned
by Mary Haze
Summary: Alex has adjusted to her life in the Country of Hearts. She's even fallen in love. But what happens when she meets a stranger in her dreams, and unwanted memories return? Can her broken heart be mended? Who will save her now? And what happens when Alice's life is threatened? You'll find out in Fragments Returned! NOTE: This story is Part 2 of Fragments of Sorrow.
1. 1: A New Beginning

**Hello everyone~! And the second series of Alex in Wonderland has finally begun! *bows***

**Firstly, I want to thank the people who read Fragments of Sorrow. You and the viewers who reviewed are the ones who kept me going. Plus my love for the Wonderland games. Hehe~**

**So some unanswered questions will finally be answered in Fragments Returned.**

**I really can't think of anything else to say right now. So sleepy. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not / have not/ will never own anything in Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice. All I do own are my OCs lol~**

**Well here we go! *cracks knuckles***

* * *

"_When the day turns into night,_

_Mortals weep. They run in fright._

_With fear comes man's abomination,_

_For she shall rise with great temptation._

_Darkness looms around the Earth._

_Hearts betray for trust is lost._

_The time has come for man's extinction,_

_Says the seer of divination._

_A sacrifice will set man free_

_Lies are spread to keep them safe._

_But only when the truth does rise,_

_The greatest horror shall arise."_

A small girl with long, black hair rubs her red, sleepy eyes while staring at a middle aged man.

"I don't get it uncle," she said while stifling a yawn.

Her uncle chuckled while closing the book in his hands and setting it aside on his desk.

"It's a prophecy written long ago by a great seer. He was an amazing fellow. Claimed he could see everything that was to come. And he was right about it too," the uncle explained in a cheery voice.

"But I don't get it," the girl whined. "Abomation, ektincton, divaton. What's it mean?"

The girl looked up at her uncle with curious eyes.

"Well my dear, first you need to-"

"Oh! And what's a seer?" the girl then added. "And greates howror. Howror is scary, right? So scary is gonna arise? What's arise? And what's scary gonna do to it?"

"My girl, you ask too many questions," the uncle said after placing his hand on the girl's mouth to silence her.

He sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Alex dear, if you wish to learn, there's only one proper way to do it," the uncle said while removing his hand from the girl's mouth.

"What's that Uncle Aswal?" Alex asked while scooting herself closer to her uncle; all attention focused on him.

"You learn it yourself," Aswal said while crossing his arms, a grin forming on his face. "Getting someone else to tell you everything is only the easy way out. And in the end, you gain nothing from it. But if you try to find the answers on your own, then you'll always feel rewarded in the end."

"Ooooh. How do I find the answers?" Alex asked while rocking back and forth.

"Hmm, well we have plenty of books in the study for you to look at."

"Ooooh. So if I read books and learn then I get a prize?"

"Haha, why of course."

"What kinda prize, Uncle Aswal?" Alex asked while bouncing up and down.

"Knowledge. Which is one of the greatest prizes of all," Aswal responded while raising his index finger.

Alex gasped.

"I want it! I want it! I want the big prize!" she shouted excitedly, not knowing what the word knowledge meant.

Alex turned and ran for the study.

***SLAM***

"A-Alex! Are you all right?" Aswal asked while staring at the six year old who had run into a wall and was now on the floor.

"I'm okay, uncle," she said while getting up and dusted her clothes.

"My dear, you really should cut your hair. You can't see a thing with those long bangs of yours,"Aswal said with a worried look on his face.

"I'm okay," Alex said then took off again.

"Honestly, that girl."

Aswal sat in the chair and pulled out some documents from a manila envelope.

"Well maybe she won't bombard me with questions now that I've given her that speech," he said then chuckled.

His expression went grim as he noticed something written on the documents.

"What will I ever do?"

* * *

**-CHAPTER ONE-**

**-A NEW BEGINNING-**

* * *

"Let's ride that one," I said excitedly while pointing at the roller coaster.

Alice gulped, not feeling too pleasant about riding yet another dangerous ride located in the Amusement Park.

"I don't know… Maybe we should ride something safer first. We can always come back here later," she said while trying to convince me.

"But Gowland says this one's a real killer."

"He did, huh…?" Alice asked with a forced smile.

"Yeah! See, I read once about this roller coaster that could go up to 149 mph. Gowland says that this new one can travel past 170! Don't you think that's neat? It's a new record," I said while imagining how thrilling the ride would be.

It's been 3 months since I arrived in the Country of Hearts, and this would be my first time riding an actual roller coaster. It's only natural I'd be excited.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard from behind. Alice and I quickly looked to see that the roller coaster had somehow exploded and was now in flames.

"Alice it-"

"Yeah."

"Do you think they're-"

"I don't know."

"…"

"…"

"You want to go home?"

"Yep. Let's do that."

With that said, we both turned and headed towards the exit. The Amusement Park, as thrilling as it was, never failed to demolish itself.

"Don't worry, Alex. We'll ride the roller coaster the next time we come here," Alice said with a warm smile on her face.

I smiled back. I truly was happy to have someone like her as a friend. She could be scary when angry, but she was also kind and caring. She was strict about dangerous things like weapons and warned the twins each time about where they could and couldn't take me. She even forced me to eat food on a daily basis which was kind of irritating at first. Though lately, I've been getting this warm feeling inside of me. At first, I thought of her as something like a sister, but now… I don't know. It feels like she's more than that. Alice is like…

"Alice?" I asked while looking at the young lady with curious eyes.

"What is it?"

"What is it like to have a mother?"

"A mother?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I've never had one, so I don't know what it's like or how it feels. Do you know?"

"W-well… I-"

"Hey doll," said an annoying Cheshire cat as he embraced me from behind. "Leaving without even a hello? Way to suck."

Alice looked at us in surprise.

"Boris! Let go of me this instance," I demanded. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a doll?"

"I think you're misunderstanding some things, Alex," Boris said while refusing to let go. "Nya~. Do you mind if I borrow her, Alice?" he then asked.

Alice stared at us for a while then giggled.

"Well why not. I have to get to work anyways. You two play nice," she said as she waved to us then left.

"N-no wait. Alice? You have it all wrong!"

Boris then dragged me away into the crowds against my will.

* * *

"Here you go," Boris said while giving me a strawberry ice cream cone as we sat on a bench.

"Thanks," I said while eyeing the ice cream.

"Nya. You wouldn't tell me what flavor you like, so I had to guess. Do you like it?"

I looked up at Boris and gave him a fake smile.

"I do like strawberry."

"That's great!"

I softened while looking at Boris' happy expression. He was kind of cute like this.

"So I have an idea for what we can do."

"About?"

"Your crappy love missions," the cat responded.

"Hey! They're not crappy!" I shouted in anger.

"Whatever. Let's go on a date," Boris said while smirking.

"D-d-date?" I asked him surprise.

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

"Exactly how is this going to bring the twins closer to Alice?" I asked, forgetting the ice cream in my hand.

"Simple. I'll lead you around. You remember what we do. Tell me if you had fun or not, and if you did then tell the twins what happened," Boris explained as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I have someone I like," I argued.

"What? The gloomy clockmaker? Screw him. You know he only thinks of you as some kid," Boris argued back.

"How dare you! I know I have a chance with him if I try hard enough. You'll see," I said with determination.

"Well that's later. Now, we should focus on our date."

"No way."

I then felt something smooth and sticky running down my right hand.

I looked to see the ice cream dripping all over.

"Oh gawd," I said while throwing the cone into the trash. "Ugh, I hate sticky stuff."

"What a waste," Boris said as he walked up to me.

"Well sooorry if I wasted that precious ice cream. Someone had to go and spout nonsense about a d-d-daaaate! ? !"

My eyes went wide as Boris licked the ice cream on my hand.

"W-what are you d-doing?" I asked, flustered, as he continued to lick it all up.

He stopped, looked up at me, then smiled.

"Your face is red."

I glared hard at the pervy cat.

"You're cute when you're like that," he said then winked.

I could feel myself overheating. Whether it was from anger or embarrassment or even both, I'd make this cat pay.

"I really hate you."

"Whatever. Let's go," Boris said excitedly as he dragged me on. He had gotten used to all the hateful comments.

Maybe telling him I hate him almost all the time wasn't a good idea…

* * *

I lay on the bed, exhausted from spending an entire time period and a half with Boris. I'll admit that the rides were fun and sometimes scary at the same time, but it annoyed me when Boris went into flirt mode.

"That dumb cat," I murmured while staring up at the ceiling. "But being at the amusement park is fun… hmph! I'll never tell him."

I turned to my side and closed my eyes.

It was nice of Gowland to let me spend the night period in one of the guest rooms. I really did like that old man. Much better than Boris. Now if only he could play music better.

"…"

***sighs***

"I want to see Julius…"

That day when Julius first gave me his blood was when I felt a warmth in my chest like no other. How he protected me… The rare times when he was gentle… It's because he's usually so cold that those gentle times hold so many meanings for me. Plus, he was easy to talk to. I shared all my secrets with him. I feel like I could tell him anything…

Once, I read a book about a man who drank the blood of his lover. His love for her was greater than anything he had ever felt before, but drinking her blood only deepened their bonds. This made their love unbreakable and eternal.

Apparently those who drink the blood of their true love will always be bound to them.

"…"

"I guess it's like being tied down," I said while thinking of what Boris once said about falling in love. "No, no. Maybe something else."

"Ugh, oh well. I'll see Julius after a good sleep," I said while pulling the covers over me.

"Stupid Boris…" I said while drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"…lex…"

"Mmmh…"

"..Alex…ake up…"

"Hmm…"

"Alex… wake up…"

"Ugh… Nightmare?" I asked while opening my sleepy eyes.

I yawned loudly while trying to open my eyes.

No use.

Sitting up, I rubbed them and waited a while for my vision to become clear. Waking up was never fun… Especially when I'm still sleepy.

"Nightmare?" I asked while looking around with only my right eye open.

Guess I'm not dreaming.

As I stood up and stretched, I couldn't help but feel something was out of place.

"It's so quiet... And what happened to my room?" I asked while looking around.

I looked down at my wrinkled clothes.

"Oh dear. Looks like I forgot to change clothes," I said in dismay.

Realization then dawned on me.

That's right! I spent the night at the Amusement Park. No wonder my room's so different.

***chirp chirp***

It's pretty quiet out there.

***chirp chirp***

Quiet enough for birds…? Why do I hear birds?

I decided to take a look outside.

Was everyone taking a day off?

Doesn't sound possible though. But then again, what do I know?

My eyes went wide after opening the door at the scenery before me.

"A forest?" I asked in surprise while taking a few steps forward.

I looked around, left to right, trying to search for the Amusement Park.

"What on earth… WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED! ? !" I shouted, as I started to panick.

I spun around, deciding to go back into my room.

***slam***

I watched in dismay as the door to my room shut itself and vanished.

I started to quiver as I knew where I was and was completely clueless to how I got there and why.

"W-why m-m-me?" I asked, right eye twitching.

Rustling could be heard in the bushes behind me.

Turning my head slowly, I watched in horror as the rustling became louder.

My eyes went wide as the creature revealed itself and roared.

"A-a-a-a-a… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! ! !"

* * *

**Haha... Poor Alex. Not only is she in a forest (a huge fear created by the twins and accidentally Ace), but she's also face to face with something else. Something scary! xP**

**Ahh so now it's time for Mary Haze's Questionnaire Corner! *ding ding ding***

**You have a question?**

**Mary Haze will do her best to answer it! *pumped up***

**Or if you just wanna review, that works too lol**

**So hope you all enjoyed! Will aim to post the next chapter in a week. Will try hard for it. Going to break myself from this procrastination.**

**Take care everyone! x3**


	2. 2: Frustration

**Hello everyone~ Chapter two is up! Please R&amp;R. Hope you enjoy~  
I decided to rewrite Chapter Two and up because of the mistakes I made. I finally decided to come back to fanfiction and finish my stories. Reading this one though, I thought to myself, "Wow, this isn't going in the direction I wanted it to."**

**I apologize to all my readers for this and for the suuuuper long update. I plan to go back to updating this regularly again.**

**For those of you who have forgotten Alex's appearance:**

**-Character Summary-**

**Name: Alex Garsel**

**Real Age: 21 (looks 16)**

**Dream/Wonderland Age: 18**

**Hair: Long, Black (bangs cover eyes)**

**Eyes: Red (Left eye is partially blind)**

**Height: 157**

**Blood Type: O**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

* * *

**-3rd PoV-**

* * *

"First we were in the Country of Hearts," Blood said while Alice listened closely. "And now we're in the Country of Clover."

Alice waited for more to be said.

***silent pause***

"THAT'S IT? !" she asked in shock and frustration.

"Hmm. Did I neglect to say something?" asked a puzzled Blood.

"Nah, that was perfect! Couldn't have said it better myself," said a way too cheerful Elliot.

"That doesn't make any sense," Alice said while rubbing her temples. "Are you saying we've been placed in different buildings? But we're still in Hatter Mansion. How could we move if we didn't pack anything up or move ourselves?"

"Maybe it's a cultural difference," Blood said as realization dawned on him. He then explained to Alice how moving worked in Wonderland.

* * *

"Wait for us big sis," Dee and Dum said as they raced after Alice who was rushing out of the building. She panicked when Blood told her how the Amusement Park now became a giant forest. If Alex had moved here along with the rest of them, then she'd be stuck in the middle of that forest. Oh the horror…

"_If only I didn't leave her behind…"_ Alice thought guiltily while remembering how she left Alex with Boris the last time they were at the Amusement Park. She had thought of it as a perfect opportunity to go off and find clues as to who the culprit was that brought Alex into this world. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any.

"I can't wait to see the look on sister's face," said a happy Dee.

"She must be terrified, brother," Dum responded merrily.

"Ohhh, I hope Boris is with her," Alice said as she became even more worried.

"That's if Boris moved to this world," Dee said while looking up at Alice.

"Yah, we don't know who all came here."

Alice mumbled to herself as the trio continued on.

* * *

**-CHAPTER TWO-**

**-FRUSTRATION-**

* * *

**-1st PoV-**

* * *

"S-S-S-SCAAARY BEAR! RUUUUUUUUN! ! !" the boy running beside me - with mouse ears and a tail - shouted with tears flowing from his eyes.

I nodded quickly in agreement as tears also fell from my eyes from pure terror as we both ran for dear life.

We quickened our pace as we heard the bear roar from behind.

The fear I felt was suddenly replaced by anger as we heard laughter behind us.

"QUIT LAUGHING ACE!"

"Ahaha! I guess I really pissed it off, huh," Ace said as he continued to laugh.

***twitch***

This damn knight was the main reason we were running for our lives to begin with! How dare he treat this like some sort of game? Laughing like some freaking maniac…

"S-S-S-S-SCAAAARY KNIGHT AND SCARY B-B-BEAR! ! Why do they pick on me?" The boy continued to cry.

I glanced at the poor boy in disbelief. Must've been through a lot…

**ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR**

The boy screamed again while fear overcame me once again. Stupid Ace continued to laugh, of course!

"_It's gaining on us,"_ I thought to myself while whimpering.

Oh how easy it would be if I could just teleport… But if I did that, people would know I'm not human. Darn it!

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!" screamed the mouse-eared boy.

I nodded my head quickly in agreement.

"If you keep bobbing your head like that, it might fall off," Ace said cheerfully then laughed.

IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE, I'LL FREAKING KILL THAT KNIGHT!

***TRIP***

Time seemed to slow down as I fell towards the ground.

The boy continued to run to safety.

Suddenly, before my face could hit the ground, I felt an arm wrap around me and pull me back up.

My eyes stayed wide in shock as I stared at the ground moving below me while Ace carried me in one arm.

"Ahaha! That was a close one," Ace said as he held on tight. "Don't look behind you."

I couldn't help but turn my head to see why Ace was telling me such a thing.

Oh if I could scream right here and now, it'd probably be loud enough for the entire country to hear.

The bear was only a few feet away and getting closer by the second.

Shaking, I grabbed onto Ace's jacket and started tugging it non-stop.

"Hold on," Ace said as he winked at me and flung me onto his shoulder.

I yelped at the sudden contact of hard shoulder against soft belly. That hurt…

* * *

***about two hours later…***

* * *

"So…" I started as I looked down at the bear below us while sitting on a large branch in a rather large tree. "What the heck did you do to piss that bear off?"

I then turned my head to glare at Ace.

Thankfully, the fear had mostly left me, and I was able to speak again. I was still really ticked off though.

"I found some really good honey, so I took it," said the ever so cheerful Ace.

"Mhm," I said while eyeing him suspiciously. "Ace, where did you find the honey?"

"Inside a beehive, silly."

"Oh? And WHERE was this beehive?" My arms were crossed as I tapped a finger, waiting for his obvious response.

"Well the bear had it, and I-"

***WHACK***

I had hit Ace on the noggin with all of my might.

"OUCH! That hurt," Ace said while rubbing his poor head.

"I OUTTA SHOVE YOU OUT OF THIS DAMN TREE AND FEED YOU TO THE STINKING BEAR! ! !"

"Aww, what'd I do to make you so mad?" Ace asked while trying to look innocent.

"In all honesty, you should have left me on the ground and gone up this damn tree yourself. It's so obvious the bear's only out for YOUR blood," I said with a huff.

"Now don't be like that. Isn't this fun?"

***WHACK***

"I guess… not… aha…ha…" Ace sweatdropped as I glared at him and prepared to beat him senseless.

* * *

**-3****rd**** PoV-**

* * *

A stuttering Pierce had introduced himself to a puzzled Alice and explained the events that happened to him that day. Pierce was apparently the boy with the mouse ears and tail.

"A bear, scary knight, and girl," Alice said while looking at the poor mouse. So Ace and Alex were in the forest with him…

AND A BEAR? ! ?

"Do you know if Ace and Alex are alright?" Alice asked Pierce.

"I-I d-d-don't k-know…" Pierce said as he distanced himself from the twins. "B-but I-I think they are. The s-scary knight is strong, after all."

"I see," Alice said then frowned.

She looked towards the forest. Ace would obviously be okay, but what about Alex? She was still young and so weak. What if she coughed up blood again like Nightmare and ended up fainting? Would Ace protect her?

Would she be okay?

"Aww, it's fine, big sis," Dee said with a smile.

"Yah, sister's gonna be okay. She'll come home in no time," said Dum while waving his weapon at poor Pierce.

The twins laughed at the crying mouse.

"Be nice, you two!"

* * *

**-1****st**** PoV-  
-3 time periods later…-**

* * *

I grumbled as I followed Ace through the dumb forest.

Two time periods… It took two freaking time periods for the bear to finally give up on us, and now we were lost in this stinking forest!

Sighing, I looked up at a jolly Ace.

Does this guy ever get upset?

***giggles***

"Oh! I think this is the right way," Ace said while pointing to the left.

More forest… Hurray.

"Hmph. The right way to where, Ace?"

"Aww, you're not still upset, are you?"

"You find a way out of this forest, then maybe I'll calm down."

Ace stopped walking and turned to look at me.

I blinked in surprise as I saw the gentle smile on his face. Usually his smiles were goofy and stupid, but this one seemed genuine.

"Don't worry. I'll get us out of here," he said as he patted my head gently.

My anger started to wash away.

"Okay," I said, wanting to believe this directionally challenged knight.

_**hehe~**_

I quickly spun around as Ace started to move forward.

A laugh?

_**Alex…**_

This voice... It's not Aura's.

_**Come here.**_

This sweet scent. I recognize this smell…

_**Oh Alex~**_

"Ah…A-Ace," I said in a low voice.

I wanted to call for help, but my body started to move on its own.

Ace, help!

I wanted to call out to him, but it was too late. Would he even know I was missing?

My mind grew hazy.

After walking for some time, I saw a bloodied, eyeless Aura standing several feet before me.

…_**Alex…**_

She smiled as she walked towards me.

"Aura?" I asked as I felt her embrace me.

_**That's right. It's me, my beloved sister.**_

It felt soothing as she rubbed my back.

The scent was also driving me crazy. This smell, though, wasn't coming from Aura.

Somewhere around us… Was someone else there?

_**Alex…**_

"Huh?" I asked weakly as I felt something sharp against my back.

_**What I do is for you. So we three can be together again.**_

Why does Aura sound so sad?

_**He'll take you away from us.**_

He?

_**Like he did nearly three years ago.**_

What do you mean?

_**If I don't do this, you'll become his puppet again!**_

The entire forest started to shake as a loud cry was heard in the distance.

"Alex!" a familiar voice shouted from behind.

I turned to see Boris run up and grab me.

Lifting me in his arms, he dashed away from the area to someplace safe.

"What are you doing?" I asked in disbelief.

"Saving you," he said as he finally decided to stop and let me down. "Or did you really want to fall down that cliff?"

"Cliff?" I blinked twice in confusion while forgetting everything that just happened.

Looking around, I wondered where I was.

"Yeah, the lands are still fluctuating. You were about to fall off the cliff that formed right behind you," Boris said then sighed.

"Oh… Huh?"

Boris could tell I was still confused.

"This is your first move, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Oh boy…"

* * *

Tears of sadness welled up in my eyes.

"Y-you mean I can't see Julius anymore?"

"I can't believe out of everything I said, that's the first thing to pop out of your mouth. You really love the gloomy clockmaker that much, huh?"

Boris sighed in disbelief as he scratched the back of his head.

"He's my first love!" I responded in an angry tone.

I felt a sharp pang in my chest.

Julius was gone.

I couldn't see him anymore.

The only person I trusted and loved more than anyone in this world was now gone!

Why?

Boris pulled me towards him and hugged me while gently patting my head.

"It's okay. I understand you're sad and lonely now, but everything will turn out alright," he said while trying to reassure me.

I silently cried as I nuzzled my face against Boris' ticking chest.

"I want to go home," I said through tears.

"Okay," Boris said while smiling warmly at me.

* * *

"It was nice to see Alice and the others at Hatter Mansion again."

"Mhm."

"The poor thing looked like she was about to cry."

"Seeing you in tears didn't help much, now did it?"

The tears came and started falling down my cheeks once more.

"EVEN IN A DREAM, I'M CRYING! I'm soooo pathetic!"

Nightmare sweatdropped as he sighed.

This girl had cried for nearly three time periods while in her room in Hatter Mansion, and now she was crying here.

"Don't feel bad, Alex," Nightmare said while trying to comfort me. "It just wasn't meant to be. I'm sure you'll find your true love soon enough."

I took deep breaths and calmed down.

Well it's not like Julius felt the same way about me anyways. It was obvious to me that he didn't love me the way I loved him, but I still wanted to believe I had a chance.

The chance is now over though.

Being in love for the first time though, I finally understood the pain of the characters in some stories I read where lovers were forced to be separated. The thought of never seeing each other again. Yes, the stories now made since.

"You mean those fiction books you're addicted to?" Nightmare asked while looking away.

***twitch***

Deciding to make the incubus pay for reading my mind, I thought up a disturbing scene I once read in a horror book.

Nightmare suddenly barfed up blood.

Yep. You get what you deserve.

"H-hey now… Don't let your anger out on me…" Nightmare said weakly.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but kept quiet.

I get it.

But I won't just say it yet.

"Nightmare?" I asked with a bored expression on my face.

"What is it?" he asked while recovering from the horrible scene.

"Be honest. When you look at me, do you see a monster?" Using my right hand to pull back the bangs from my forehead, I turned to look up at him with my glowing red eyes; revealing to him my true form.

Nightmare and Julius were the only two in wonderland who knew my secret. I didn't have much of a choice with Nightmare, but Julius I was able to trust.

He paused for a while before answering.

"There's no need to look so sad," Nightmare said with a warm smile. "When I look at you, I don't see a monster. Only a girl who is lost and too afraid to take that first step in finding her way."

"Hmm…" Letting the bangs fall back onto my face, I looked away while thinking carefully about the incubus' words.

"Alex, you shouldn't belittle yourself so. I understand your frustration, but you need to have more faith in others.

"…"

* * *

"This way sister," the twins said as they dragged me from one shop to another.

The boys had decided it was a good idea to take a stroll around town, and I was forced to go with them.

Why couldn't I just relax in my room for once?

Dee and Dum stopped for a moment to think.

"Where does sister wanna go?" Dee asked as they looked up at me with innocent eyes.

Innocent?

No.

They're up to something.

"Err, how about we just go home?" I asked while laughing nervously.

"Hmm~"

"Hmm~"

"Nope," they said in unison.

"Let's go there," Dee said while pointing at an accessory shop.

"Good idea brother," Dum said as they both grabbed a hand and pulled me towards the shop.

"Look sister. Anything ya want?"

Why were they so excited about this?

"Uhm…" I looked around at the items before me; Hats to the left, purses to the right, and cute accessories all around.

This specific shop was definitely targeting women.

Why would the twins want to come here?

"Does sister not like anything?" Dee asked.

I noticed the disappointment in his voice.

Were they up to something? Or were they not?

…_**Alex…**_

I froze as I heard Aura's voice calling my name.

_**Alex… Help…**_

What?

I snapped out of whatever trance I was in as I felt a hand gently pat me on the head.

I stared in surprise at two worried boys as Dee continued to pat me on the head.

"Big Sis says to pat ya on the head when you're feelin' down," Dee said. "She says it'll make you feel better."

"We don't want sister to be sad," Dum said.

They were worried about me.

"What's wrong sister?"

"We're here for you when you need us. We want sister to be happy again."

A feeling of warmth crept up inside of me.

Just what on earth was I thinking? These boys were trying to cheer me up, and all I did was try to accuse them of plotting something no good.

"I'm sorry," I said with a weak smile. "I've just had a lot on my mind is all."

I did shut myself in my room for three time periods after all. I'll admit I've had quite of a temper lately and have been acting kind of depressed. I guess an empty stomach can do that to someone especially with all the bad news I've been getting lately; Losing Julius, getting chased by a bear, and hearing Aura's voice everywhere I go.

"So what's wrong?" the boys asked as they continued to stare at me.

I sighed while looking away nervously.

"I'm just tired," I said with a forced smile.

"Well duh. That's cause sister never eats," Dum said.

The twins sighed.

"I-I do," I argued.

"Just a few bites isn't enough," Dee scolded.

"Let's go grab a bite," Dum said excitedly.

"An' I know just the place," Dee said while grabbing my hand and pulling me towards their next destination.

I grumbled in frustration.

I stared at Dee's neck for a while then quickly looked away.

Just how long could I go without food? How would I be affected if I waited too long?

So many problems piling up… And lately my thoughts feel jumbled up.

* * *

**And that concludes this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed~ ^_^**


	3. 3: The Knight and I

**Aaaand here's Chapter 3, yay!**

**Please R&amp;R.**

**If you have questions, you are welcome to ask away.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

* * *

"_W_h_e_r_e_ i_s _i_t… WhErE iS iT_? ! ?" A woman in a black gown screamed as she searched frantically around the dark room in an abandoned mansion.

The wood in the decrepit building was decaying, and dried blood stains were in most of the rooms. Most of the mansion had burned down years ago, but some of the rooms somehow still stood to this day.

"_D_a_m_m_i_t! _I_f _o_n_l_y _I _c_o_u_l_d-"

"Well with a temper like that, no wonder you can't find a thing," said a young man as he walked nonchalantly into the room. "It also doesn't help to be blind. I don't understand why you choose to torture yourself so. All you need to do is ask, and I would have gladly-"

"_S_h_u_t _y_o_u_r _m_o_u_t_h,"_ the woman snapped while glaring at the man who now stood before her. He had the same cursed red eyes as Alex and caramel colored hair with bangs that covered his right eye.

"A cruel mouth you possess. I don't suppose you were looking for this now were you?" the man asked while holding up a small notepad.

"_W_h_a_t _a_r_e _y_o_u _h_o_l_d_i_n_g_? _Y_o_u _k_n_o_w_ _I _c_a_n'_t _s_e_e," said the irritated woman as she snatched the item from his hand. She gasped in surprise.

"I_s _t_h_i_s _i_t? _!" she asked excitedly.

"The one and only," the man said with a grin on his face. "Beloved Alex's so-called mission notes. Now if you please~"

Aura giggled as she gave the notepad back to the man.

"Do _you tr_ul_y be_lieve _you_ can _w_i_n her _h_e_a_r_t_ w_i_th _t_h_i_s_?"

"I can try," the man said as he flipped through the pages of the notebook. "I'll admit that most of these things are ridiculous, but she is the one who wrote all these sappy ideas. She must've believed they'd work if she had the guts to write this down."

"_Y_es_… I_t _w_as s_o _a_mus_in_g_ _t_o _s_ee h_e_r _t_r_y _s_o _ha_r_d _t_o _p_a_i_r _m_e _u_p w_i_t_h _t_h_a_t _h_u_ma_n _y_e_a_r_s _a_g_o_," Aura said with a warm smile.

"True. It worked out well in the end, didn't it? But now we've come across a problem, haven't we?" the man said with seriousness in his eyes.

"_Y_e_s… _W_e _n_eed _h_er."_

* * *

**-CHAPTER THREE-  
-THE KNIGHT AND I-**

* * *

"Whoops! I somehow dropped my ice cream. I'm sorry," I said apologetically as the poor minty ice cream now lay splattered on the ground.

I seriously didn't feel like forcing any unwanted food down my throat right now since I was close to starving for the real deal.

"Aww sister's so clumsy," Dee said as he sighed.

"True brother," Dum agreed.

"What should we do, brother?"

"What if sister's clumsy cause she's hungry?"

"That's right, brother," Dee agreed. "In that case, sister should have both of our ice creams."

"I agree, brother," Dum said as a smile grew on their faces.

Ugh… I need an excuse. Any excuse.

We suddenly heard rustling in the bushes.

As we turned our heads towards the bush, we saw Ace crawl out while looking as lost as always.

***pause***

***crickets chirp***

"Ace… What are you doing there?" I asked blankly.

"Oh hey, Alex," the knight said as he stood and dusted off his jacket while looking happy as always. "I'm just on one of my adventures."

"Uh huh…"

"Let's ditch the dumb knight," Dee said.

Dum nodded in agreement.

My eyes widened as an idea suddenly popped into my head.

"Actually, I have business with him," I said while smiling nervously.

"Aww what does sister want with the dumb knight?" Dee asked as both boys looked unhappy.

"I'll help you get together with Alice if you let me go without any questions whatsoever," I said with a blank look on my face.

"Okay!" the boys said excitedly.

"See ya, sister," said Dum as they ran off to some random shop.

Wow.

Mention Alice, and they're like obedient little puppies.

Those boys…

"What was that about?" Ace asked as he walked up to me.

"Needed to get away," I responded then sighed. "So having fun on your adventure?"

"Yep. The land is still shifting, so I want to explore as much as possible," Ace responded.

We stared at each other, a smile still planted on Ace's face.

That's right. Boris did warn me before about how the land shifts because the move isn't complete. Or something like that.

"So you have business with me?" Ace asked while pointing at himself.

"Nope. Like I said, just needed to get away. Sorry, but I made you my excuse," I said apologetically.

"Ahaha! No need to apologize. Instead, make it up to me by joining me on my adventure," Ace said as he grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him.

"Wait! Adventure where?"

"Who knows! Now time to explore," Ace said as he marched off with no plans to let go of me.

Gaaaaaaaah!

* * *

"You look crankier than Julius," Ace said as we sat on a log beside the fire he set up. It had changed to night time, so we decided to camp out.

"Well no duh you dumb knight! You do realize that we've been traveling non-stop for three freaking time periods? ! THREE! TIME! PERIODS! THREE!"

"Woah, calm down," Ace said then laughed.

***twitch***

"THREE TIME PERIODS, ACE!"

***stomach growls***

***freezes***

"Wow Alex, you must be starving," Ace said with wide eyes. "Ahaha! What? Are you on a diet?"

***TWITCH***

"DON'T YOU DARE HA HA HA ME! ! !" I shouted as I tackled the guy.

"Ha ha ha this! Ha ha ha that! GEEZ! You HA HA everything," I complained while sitting on top of a flattened down Ace as I tried to strangle him.

He laughed away, looking as though he was having the time of his life.

"Alex, I didn't know you were a seme," Ace teased.

I stopped choking him and stared.

"Seme?" I asked in an icy voice. "What the heck is a seme?"

Once again, Ace burst into laughter.

"Hey! Stop laughing, and tell me what a seme is!"

"You want to know?" Ace asked as he grinned.

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't," I said while feeling irritated.

I suddenly became surprised as Ace grabbed my right arm and forced me to the ground. Before I knew it, I was on the bottom, and he was above me; looking down at me with a grin on his face as his eyes gleamed.

"In our current position, I would be the seme," Ace said as he stared me down.

"What?" I asked as my anger slowly drained away and was replaced by confusion. "Wait, are you saying a seme is someone who tackles people to the ground?"

Ace chuckled.

"Man, you're really dense."

"Huh?" Dense about what? Ugh, I'm becoming irritated again.

"Hmm…" Ace's eyes widened a little as he continued to stare at my face.

"W-what now?"

"…"

"Ace…?"

I looked at Ace as I blinked in confusion. Why is he just staring at me?

"You know, I've never noticed this before but," Ace started to say as he lifted a hand and brushed my bangs away from my face, "you're really cute, Alex."

"D-don't do that," I said nervously as I quickly covered my face with my bangs. "And I'm not cute."

"Don't be shy," Ace said while smiling at me. "You're especially cute when you're all stressed like that."

What the heck…?

I stared at Ace, feeling dumbfounded.

"Ugh, get off of me," I said while crawling out from under him.

"Aww, you hurt my feelings."

"I know you're pretending," I said in anger.

"Yup! You caught me," Ace said then laughed.

"Geez…"

I wrapped my arms around my stomach while it growled again.

How the heck am I going to last?

"There's no way I'd hit on a kid anyways."

***TWITCH***

"Looks like the fire's dying down. How about some-"

***SLAAAAM***

"Who the hell are you calling a kid you damn knight?" I asked menacingly after punching Ace in the face with all my might.

* * *

It felt like hours since Ace and I had laid down on separate mats in the tent.

He had mumbled to himself several times during the night, but I couldn't make out what he said… Well actually, it was more like I was too focused on my poor stomach.

I never had a huge problem with this hunger before… But the last time I had a meal was before our move to Clover.

That was three… six, seven, eight…

***growls***

Ugh, forget it… I need to do something fast.

I turned to look at Ace who was sleeping soundly a few feet away from me.

Now would be a good time to sneak out.

I slowly crept out of the tent, careful not to make a single sound.

"Why do we have to be in the middle of the forest?" I whined silently to myself.

I looked left to right around the creepy, dark forest.

What do I do now?

Do I brave the forest to find a meal, or stay here like a coward and starve?

Hmm… Is it even possible for me to satisfy my hunger by drinking an animal's blood?

I did read in a series once how some of my kind drank the blood of animals. They called themselves vegetarians was it? Is that truly possible?

***gulps***

***takes a step forward***

***pauses***

***takes another step forward***

***pauses***

***takes another-**

"Hoo, hoo," goes a random owl.

My eyes widen in fear as I take two steps back and bump into something that wasn't there before.

"Boo."

A scream, so loud that it could send shivers up the entire skeleton, was heard throughout the forest.

That was the first time in my life I managed to scream loudly out of fear.

"She has it rough, doesn't she," said a tired and possibly dying Nightmare as he did paperwork in the Tower of Clover.

"Does who have it rough?" asked Gray as he placed a cup of coffee on Nightmare's desk.

"Yay~ Coffee~" said a revived Nightmare as he sipped it lovingly. "And I'm talking about one of the two outsiders living here in Wonderland.

"_I see,"_ Gray thought to himself. _"Lord Nightmare's friends."_

I shivered on the ground, tears flowing from my eyes as I stared up at Ace as he tried desperately hard to contain his laughter.

I wanted to yell at the knight, but was much too afraid to say a single darn thing.

Oh, there he goes, laughing his stupid head off.

After a while of laughing, Ace finally calmed down and looked at me.

"Ahaha! You really are terrified of this place. I can't believe how loud you screamed," he said as he lowered himself to my level.

"…"

"Hey, don't be like that. I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to have some fun. After all, you were the one who tried to sneak out," Ace said while grinning.

"…"

I wanted to say something so badly, but was still too afraid. Gawd Ace, you're going to get it! You'll see! Just wait until you least expect it you jerk!

"Alex?" Ace asked as a frown appeared on his face. "Say something?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Ace became very confused.

* * *

***about an hour later…***

* * *

Ace and I were sitting in the tent.

"So the more scared you get, the less you can say huh?" Ace said with a surprised look on his face. "I had no idea."

"Well now you do," I said while not planning to forgive the guy so easily. Though thanks to him, I completely lost my appetite for the time being.

"Aww don't be mad. I was only playing around," Ace said while trying to act concerned.

No way am I buying that act.

"Hm but you didn't lose your voice when we were being chased by the bear," said the knight as he closed his eyes in thought while placing a finger to his chin.

"Oh that's because I was really angry with you," I answered while glaring at Ace.

"Huh?"

"For getting that bear to chase us. And you kept laughing! It was making me so upset, I was more angry than scared when I was shouting at you," I said while crossing my arms then sighed.

"Oh I get it! Well then, I have a solution to your problem," Ace beamed.

"And what's that?" I asked while raising a brow.

"Whenever you're about to get scared, just think of all the things that piss you off. That way, you'll never lose your voice," said the stupid knight, with a huge smile on his face, like it was the greatest idea of all time.

I stared at him in disbelief.

"You're going to give me high blood pressure with all this stress," I said in a deadpan voice.

"Hey, easy. I'll make it up to you," Ace said while patting me on the head.

I started to calm down.

"Make it up to me how?" I asked in disbelief.

"Heh. Well how about this. If you're ever in a pinch with something you can't easily get, maybe something you can't bring yourself to tell anyone else, make me the one for you to rely on."

I stared at Ace with wide eyes.

This was the second time I saw that warm, reassuring smile on Ace's face. It wasn't like his usual happy go lucky or teasing looks.

And the way he worded that sentence… Does he know?

"Ace, do you…?"

"Hmm?"

"…"

"Uhm, it's nothing… I… I'm sleepy," I said while rubbing my right eye. I just couldn't bring myself to ask. I was curious now though. Could it be that Ace somehow found out about me? Did Julius say something to him? Or maybe I'm thinking too much about that sentence.

"Heh. I'll take it for now," Ace said to himself as we went to our separate mats.

That night, I drifted off to sleep with more unanswered questions I needed answers to. Though these only needed a bit of courage from my part.

Nightmare's right. I do need more faith in people. It's just not easy for me. Not after everything that's happened over the years.

* * *

**Aaaaand that's it for chapter 3, yay~!**

**I hope you all enjoyed the Chapter~**


	4. 4: Shopping With Alice

**Chapter 4 is up! Yay~!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

Looking at the mirror in my room, I saw how thin I'd become. It wasn't too noticeable, right?

"…"

Suppressing my hunger was becoming more and more difficult by the hour.

"Ugh, all that traveling with Ace was a waste of energy." I sighed as I threw myself onto the bed.

After that stupid incident with Ace, we took so many time periods trying to get back to Hatter Mansion.

Shame on me for not learning by now…

"Alex, can I come in?" I heard Alice ask while knocking on the door to my room.

"Sure thing," I said while sitting up.

I forced a smile as she walked into the room and sat down beside me.

Hopefully she wouldn't notice that I wasn't exactly in good condition.

"Have you heard about the assembly?" Alice asked with curious eyes.

I tried my best not to drool while staring unconsciously at Alice's neck.

Bet she's a virgin.

"Alex. You there?"

I snapped back to reality and wanted to punch myself in the face for what I was thinking just now.

"I-I'm sorry, what?" I asked while laughing nervously.

"The assembly," she responded while giving me a confused look.

"The what?"

* * *

-**CHAPTER FOUR-  
-SHOPPING WITH ALICE-**

* * *

I looked at a neatly dressed Alice in a clothes store that was referred to her by Blood. Apparently this assembly would last several time periods, and it was held in this place called Clover Tower. During that time, role holders were supposed to try to not kill each other.

Alice looked impressed by her outfit. It was an adorable indigo blue dress, and she wore a black ribbon on her head.

"How pretty," I said in awe.

"Don't be ridiculous," Alice said shyly. "Now we need to find a dress suitable for you," she then said as she grabbed my hand and led me through the aisles.

"There's a dress right there," I said while pointing at a simple blue, sleeveless dress.

"It's cheap too," I silently added.

"We're finding something else," Alice said, deciding the dress was too plain.

"Oh, what about that one?" I asked as I pointed at a dress with a white top, red bottom, and black sash around the waist.

Alice studied it for a while.

"Another one. That one won't suit you."

"Alice-"

"If you're talking about the simple gray one with white sleeves, then no," Alice said as she twitched. "I know you're only paying attention to the low prices."

I laughed nervously.

So I was caught.

"Sorry… Just felt a little guilty. You're buying my dress after all," I said a little nervously. Alice was buying my dress, because I didn't have any money. I didn't have any money, because I didn't have a job. Why don't I have one? Because Alice wouldn't let me.

***sighs***

But she won't let me, because she's concerned about my health; Which would be better if I had food in my tummy.

"Oh please. I have plenty of money, so don't worry. We're going to find you something cute," Alice said with determination in her voice.

I wonder if Alice is more like a sister or a mother to me? Since I have no memories of a mother, I just don't know.

Grr this is hard!

Alice gasped as her eyes widened in surprise.

"Huh?" I asked, while wondering what had gotten her so excited.

"This one!" she exclaimed as she dragged me over to this one dress.

I stared at it in awe. It was a ruby-colored, knee length dress with sleeves that only covered the shoulders. A white shawl was wrapped around the shoulders and stopped about an inch above the elbows. There were two wristbands with white lace as well. A red headband came with the dress with a pretty bow on the left side.

"You don't think it's too much?" I asked while still somewhat mesmerized by the outfit.

"Excuse me, may she try this?" Alice asked; ignoring my question while waving at the lady closest to us.

"Why of course~. You have good eyes, miss," the faceless said excitedly.

"Wait, what about my decision?" I asked nervously.

"Hurry up and try it," Alice said while shoving the dress into my arms. Both her and the faceless then dragged me to the changing room and forced me in there.

"I'll be out here," Alice said merrily.

I sweatdropped while staring at the closed door.

I never knew she liked this kind of stuff.

* * *

**-3RD PoV-**

* * *

"Is she your sister?" the faceless asked.

"N-no, she's not," Alice said as a blush crept on her face.

"Does it look that way?" she asked shyly.

The faceless nodded immediately.

"It's just that you two looked so close. You looked like you adored her so much, it made me wish how I had a sister who could love me just as much," the faceless explained.

"I see," Alice said with a shy smile, not knowing a proper way to respond.

A sister huh?

Alice knew that she could never be the perfect elder sister that Lorina was. She felt drawn to Alex, though. There was this unexplainable urge of wanting to protect and take care of her. Maybe even mother her.

"_Oh but we're almost the same age,"_ Alice thought, silently laughing at her silly thoughts.

But maybe this was how her elder sister was like?

Lorina was always like the perfect sister and mother for Alice and Edith; Always doing her best to give them the happiness and lives she felt they deserved. Because of that, Alice would act like an innocent, dependent, and adorable younger sister to please her. She, in return, wanted Lorina to be happy as well.

"…"

Alice missed her elder sister dearly. But if she left Wonderland, she feared she might constantly worry over Alex.

For starters, vomiting blood wasn't exactly normal. The doctors couldn't find anything either. But something had to be wrong.

***sighs***

"_Sorry sister, but I have to stay in this world a bit longer. Please don't worry too much,"_ Alice thought.

"Miss, are you finished yet?" the faceless asked while knocking gently on the door to the changing room.

"Is everything all right?" Alice asked while snapping out of her thoughts.

"She isn't responding," the faceless said with a frown.

Alice walked over and knocked on the door.

"Alex?"

No response.

"Alex, answer me."

Still nothing.

Alice froze; fear building up inside of her.

"Don't tell me…" she said as she quickly opened the door that, luckily, Alex had forgotten to lock.

Fear overcame Alice at the sight before her.

A pale Alex was lying unconsciously on the floor.

Oh no…

* * *

Nightmare vomited blood on his desk and fell to his knees.

"Urk… Ugh, that stubborn girl," he said as his body shook.

He had been drinking coffee in his study in the Tower of Clover when he sensed that Alex had fainted.

Alice's mind had become a complete mess.

"And she's not the only one who's stubborn. It's becoming more difficult to block her sister out," said an irritated Nightmare.

Suddenly, Nightmare could feel the presence of an unwelcome outsider.

"Heh…"

* * *

**-1****st**** PoV-**

* * *

_**Alex~**_

"…"

_**Oh Alex~**_

My eyes snapped open.

Laughter could be heard in the distance.

I wearily lifted myself up and took a look at my surroundings.

A void?

Is this a dream?

_**Over here!**_

I look forward to see a small child with long, black hair in a red dress run off.

_**This way~**_

"_A man's voice?"_ I thought to myself while following the girl. I didn't really know what else to do at this point.

The child suddenly disappeared.

"Huh?"

Looking down at myself, I notice the blood stains all over my clothes. I saw that my hands were covered in blood as well.

"Why?" I asked, feeling surprised, while staring down at these hands of mine.

_**You're a bad girl, Alex.**_

I suddenly felt someone grab me from behind and spin me around.

I looked up in surprise at the young man who was now holding me in his arms.

"_Red eyes,"_ I thought to myself as the caramel haired man stared me down with a mischievous smile plastered onto his face.

"Who are you?" I hesitantly asked.

"Don't you know?" he asked while grabbing a handful of hair. He then gave it a gentle kiss. "We made a pact."

"Ah…" I blushed slightly. His scent smells… familiar…

**ALEX!**

I froze as I heard Nightmare's voice in my head.

**Don't trust him! He's dangerous.**

The man suddenly screamed in pain as he let go of me and took a few steps back.

"The hell is this?" he asked in anger.

**Alex, wake up!**

"Nightmare? !" I shouted while feeling confused.

The world around me suddenly became dark.

"Nightmare, wait!"

But it was too late.

* * *

I could hear a familiar voice.

"Alex, please wake up."

Alice?

I opened my heavy eyes and saw a concerned Alice staring at me.

Besides her, everything else in the room was somewhat blurry.

"Alex," Alice said in relief.

"Miss, are you all right?" said an unfamiliar, male voice.

Who… is that?

And wait…

Is he holding me? !

After completely gaining my vision, I saw a man with raven-colored hair and golden brown eyes. The black lizard tattoo on his neck was also noticeable.

"…"

"She's awake," said Alice as she held my hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you so much, Gray."

"It's no problem," the man said as he smiled at her.

These two know each other?

The man placed his fingers at the side of my neck.

"Her pulse is low."

Ah… hungry.

"She needs help," said Alice.

The man agreed.

"Indeed. She's abnormally pale."

I started to lose myself. It truly was a wonder I lasted so long without a bite to eat but now…

"Alex?"

"Hold on miss."

Ah… throbbing.

My throat… my head…

I have to hold it in but…

…head… chest… throbbing… this pain.

I could feel myself being lifted.

So dry… throbbing…

It hurts… I can't take it…

"Where are we taking her?"

I'm sorry, Alice…

"Lord Nightmare wanted me to bring her to the tower."

I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore!

***bites***

I became oblivious to everything around me.

All that mattered right now was the warm, delicious liquid seeping into my mouth.

This scent… this taste…

Completely consumed by hunger, I continued to drink.

Feeling my entire body heat up… right now, it felt so good.

* * *

**Aaaand that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. x3**


	5. 5: The Secret is Out

**I present to you Chapter 5! Yay~!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

**Kill joy…**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

"She's a what?" asked a startled Alice.

"A vampire," Nightmare responded then took a sip of his coffee.

He, Alice, and an anemic Gray were all discussing Alex's predicament in his office while she rested in one of the guest rooms.

"No way!" Alice exclaimed as she slammed her hands onto the desk. "For starters, vampires can't walk in daylight! And they hate garlic, and they're pale and have fangs and can fly and drink blood- ***pause* **a-and don't eat human food… drink blood and don't eat human food…"

Alice finally calmed down and started to think.

"Now you're starting to get it," Nightmare said as he placed the coffee cup on his desk.

He cleared his throat and stood proudly.

"Alex is indeed a vampire from another world. A world where vampires are, of course, loathed and killed on sight. Now you know why she never eats and why she nearly sent Gray to his deathbed with the amount of blood she sucked out of him.

Alice couldn't help but remember how she and Gray panicked when Alex bit Gray's neck and started drinking away. It was tough trying to pry the girl's fangs from him.

Nightmare continued with his little speech.

"Of course she can walk in daylight, and garlic doesn't do crap to her," he said as he shrugged. "She's only pale when she's starving, and her fangs only show when she's ready to drink."

Gray was starting to finally feel better.

"Interesting. I always believed vampires to be no more than just fictional characters," he said.

"Me too. It's hard to believe that Alex is actually a ***pause*** vampire," Alice said as she began to finally put the pieces together.

Never went outside in her old world.

Never hungry for food.

Then there were the occasional times she did see Alex with fangs. She thought she was just imagining things at those times.

And of course, there was the fact that she drank Gray's blood.

It wouldn't have hurt for her to tell Alice what she was… but then again, Nightmare did say that her kind were hated.

"Which is why she kept it a secret," Nightmare said, responding to Alice's thought.

"I see…" Alice responded. A thought then occurred to her. What should she do if Alex gets hungry again? Would she have to offer her blood? Or was there another option?

"That's something you'll have to ask her yourself, Alice," Nightmare said as he took a sip of his coffee.

***twitch***

"That girl doesn't like admitting when she's hungry. She's stubborn like that, but there is a way to tell whether she's hungry or not."

"And how's that?" asked Gray.

"Simple," Nightmare said with a grin on his face. "Her behavior."

"Excuse me?" asked a confused Alice.

"Whenever Alex gets hungry, she starts to become negative. The hungrier she is, the more negative she'll become."

Alice and Gray nodded as they listened.

"When she's good on blood, she'll act like her normal self."

"_Well that explains why Alex was under a lot of depression these last few time periods,"_ thought Alice as she sighed.

"Yes, she's been quite the crybaby. It was driving me crazy," Nightmare said as he crossed his arms in frustration. "Always complaining, crying, nagging, and not responsible at all. She was like an overgrown toddler."

"_Sounds like you're talking about yourself…"_ thought Gray and Alice as they gave Nightmare a pitiful look.

***coughs up blood***

"W-why…?" he asked as he fell onto the floor.

"Lord Nightmare, I believe it's time for your medicine," Gray said as he stood and pulled out the medicine that Nightmare despised so much.

"NOoOoOooo!"

"I'll uhh… go check on Alex…" Alice said as looked at the mother trying her best to get her pitiful overgrown child to take his medicine.

"Of course," Gray said as he smiled at her.

* * *

**-CHAPTER FIVE-**  
**-THE SECRET IS OUT-**

* * *

**1ST PoV**

* * *

After waking up, it took me about a whole time period to apologize and explain everything to Alice.

I was so flustered at first, but I was beginning to finally calm down.

I did feel bad for never telling her my secret, but I never knew how she'd react. It would have hurt so much if she rejected me for it.

"I would never reject you, idiot," said Alice as she glared at me. "Have a little faith in me." She put her hand to her chest.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been? All this time, you coughing up blood and getting sick. This could have been avoided if you had just told me the truth!"

I looked down, drowning in guilt.

"I'm sorry," I said in a small, sad voice.

Alice sighed then placed a gentle hand on my head.

"I'll forgive you. I think I get why you tried to hide it," she said as she pet my head.

I looked up to see a frustrated look on her face.

"Alice?"

"…"

"Uhm…"

"Alex…"

"W-what?"

Her frustration turned into irritation. Why?

"Alex, how are you feeling?" she asked as she pulled her hand away.

"I'm actually feeling really good right now. Why?"

"Good," she said as she nodded mostly to herself. "We're going out."

* * *

"W-w-w-w-whhhhhy?" I asked in dismay.

"WHY? Because your bangs are too damn long!" she responded in anger.

I whined.

The hairstylist sweatdropped as she stared at us, not knowing what to do.

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"

Alice then spun to look at the faceless.

"I want the bangs cut about half an inch above the eyes. Also cut off two inches."

"Whhhhy?" I cried.

"I don't need a-" I froze as I saw Alice's killer glare piercing into me.

My gawd, she was so darn terrifying when angry.

I gulped and decided that keeping my mouth shut was for the best.

She then turned to finish explaining what she wanted to the frightened hairstylist.

* * *

**-ABOUT AN HOUR LATER…-**

* * *

"You look so adorable!" Alice said as she happily placed her hands together.

"Why yes~. The young lady has such a lovely face~" said the faceless as she looked at me in awe.

I was too embarrassed to look at them.

We left the salon and headed back to Hatter Mansion.

"I'll talk to Blood about your eating situation. Maybe he'll come up with something," Alice said with a determined look on her face.

I nodded my head quickly as I stared at the ground.

Of course, Alice had to look at me and notice.

"Oh don't be like that. You keep acting so shy, and I might have to do something about it," she said in an evil tone that made me shiver.

"S-shy? W-who's shy?" I asked then laughed nervously.

"Oh both of the outsiders are here?" asked a familiar voice.

I looked ahead of us to see a familiar boy with ears and a tail.

"It's Pierce," Alice said in surprise.

So his name's Pierce, huh?

"Hello! Let me squeak in a ki-"

"NO!" Alice shouted as she got in between me and Pierce. Just in time too.

He got so close so fast with those puckered up lips.

I stared in surprise.

"Oh Alice! Let me squeak in a-"

"You're not squeaking anything, Pierce," she said in anger.

"Uhh, why does he keep saying squeak?" asked my confused self.

"Pierce is apparently a dormouse," Alice explained.

"Hello, I'm Pierce Villiers. It's nice to see you again," Pierce said as he smiled at me.

"My name is Alex Garsel. It's nice to meet you too." I think.

I then forced a smile.

Both of our meetings so far haven't turned out so great.

The first time was with stupid Ace and the bear. Then there's now with him trying to "squeak" in a kiss from Alice and me.

I then noticed the suitcase in Pierce's hand.

He saw what I was looking at, then held up the suitcase.

"I have work to do, so I'll see you two later."

"Oh, okay," said Alice, finally letting her guard down.

"Before I go though, let me squeak in a-"

"No!" Alice and I said in unison as we stretched out our arms to block Pierce's lips from ours.

He walked away, feeling dejected.

"Wow," I said, not too sure of what to make of that guy.

"It's best if you stayed away from him," said Alice as she sighed. Never let your guard down around Pierce.

"Anyways," Alice started as she glanced down at me, "Are you sad?"

"Nope," I responded while looking up at her.

"Depressed?"

"Nah."

"Negatively emotional in any way?"

"No way," I said as I sweat-dropped.

"Are you hungry…?"

I shook my head no.

Alice looked like she was deep in thought.

"Uhm… Alice?"

Alice then beamed at me with delight.

"Okay~! Now let's go buy some boots to go with that dress," she said as she grabbed my hand and led the way.

"Oh boy," I murmured to myself. I didn't really like shopping, but no way would I disagree with Alice.

'_Especially since she looks so happy now,' _I thought to myself as a small smile crept across my face.

Another thought then crossed my mind.

"Hey Alice, what was that place we were at before?" I asked curiously.

"You mean the Tower of Clover?" she responded while glancing back at me.

"That's what it's called?"

"Yeah. The Tower of Clover is Nightmare's domain."

"Ahh I see." I then paused for a moment. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," Alice said then sighed. "But the Tower of Clover actually belongs to THAT Nightmare, and he's "supposed" to be really important. Or so he says."

"Nightmare? Important?" I asked in disbelief. Like seriously?

"Well we'll find out at the first meeting."

I could tell Alice was just as faithless in Nightmare as I was.

"Indeed we will," I responded.

* * *

**Aaaaand that's it for 5. ^_^**

**Thanks for reading this~!**


	6. 6: A Mystery

**I present to you Chapter 6! **

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

**If I did, who knows what hell would break loose XD**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

Nightmare sighed in frustration, slamming his head onto the desk.

"What to do with them?"

"Them? Do you mean Alice and the vampire?" Gray asked as he looked through some paperwork.

"The vampire has a name. It's Alex," A gloomy Nightmare said while lifting his head and waving a finger at Gray. "And no, it's not them. I just don't know what to do…"

"About what?"

"Well they're both giving me headaches. Making my life a lot harder than it should be…"

"Who is, Lord Nightmare?"

"The two brats that are making me work overtime! Just like you! Nobody cares about how I feel about anything."

Gray sweat-dropped as Nightmare started to babble on and on.

It looked like he was in for a very long story.

* * *

**-CHAPTER 6-  
-A MYSTERY-**

* * *

"Stop teasing me while I'm working!" shouted an angry Alice as she glared at a smirking Blood.

The twins and I were staring from one of the corners of the long hallway. It was obvious to us that he was having the time of his life teasing Alice on a daily routine.

"Maybe now's not a good time," I whispered to the twins. They nodded in agreement, and we slipped away quietly.

The three of us sighed in unison as we took a walk outside of Hatter Mansion.

The three of us had spent a whole time period coming up with ideas on how the twins could win Alice's heart. But now it was apparently obvious that Blood would have her all to himself. For now, at least.

He had recently started teasing Alice on a daily basis which was making it harder for the twins and me to initiate our plans.

"This sucks," said an upset Dee.

"Ya, boss has got her all to himself," a teary Dum responded.

"Ya, if boss has her, then there's nothin' we can do."

I looked left to right from one twin to the other.

"We can carry out the plan later when she's alone," I suggested.

"But what good would it do? If the boss is interested, we can't really go against him."

"An' the boss is an adult. Not a kid like us," Dee said bitterly.

"Go against him? What do you mean?" I asked, feeling confused. So what if Blood was teasing Alice for now. He wouldn't be around her forever.

Dee and Dum stopped in their tracks then slowly turned their heads to stare at me.

I blinked twice while looking at their faces of disbelief.

Was I missing something?

"Sister…"

"Yes?"

"You do know how the boss feels, right?" Dum hesitantly asked.

"How he feels?"

I could feel the gears in my head sloooowly start to turn. Wait a sec… Do they mean?

Dee let out a loud groan.

"For someone who's cute, sister can get suuuper dense," he said as he threw his arms up into the air.

"Really dense," Dum said as he did the same.

"Sorry I'm dense! And don't call me cute," I said while copying the twins.

"The hell are you three doing?" Elliot asked as he stared at the three of us with our arms up in the air.

The three of us spun to look at him walking towards us.

We lowered our arms as the twins glared at the rabbi- I mean dog.

"Stupid chicken rabbit! Can't you tell we're talkin' about serious stuff?"

"Ya, you stupid chicken rabbit!"

The twins booed at Elliot while he walked up to them then punched them both on the heads.

Well ouch.

"The hell did you do that for? !" they shouted angrily as I stared at the scene with wide eyes.

"We have a job to do you little shits!" Elliot yelled back.

He then looked back at me.

"Sorry Alex, but I'll be borrowing these two," he said nicely then went back to glaring at the twins.

"Sure. Please take care," I said while smiling nervously at the trio.

"Sure thing," Elliot said with a huge smile planted on his face. He then grabbed the complaining twins by the necks and dragged then away to who knows where.

"Well then… guess I'm on my own," I said then sighed.

* * *

**-Several Minutes Later-**

* * *

"Guess I'm on my own…" I gulped as I stared at the forest before me. I wanted to talk to Boris about Blood and the twins, but how was I to do that if I couldn't even take one step into the stupid forest?

Maybe Boris would be nearby?

"Boris," I called out weakly.

No response.

No duh.

"Stupid cat living in the middle of a stupid forest," I mumbled as I grew irritated. He just HAD to live in a forest. Couldn't be anywhere else.

Because of this, there was no way I could teleport to him with no idea of whether or not he'd be in the same spot we last met.

"And stupid Nightmare for taking away my Julius," I then said, remembering a conversation I had with Alice after we went shopping for my boots. Apparently Nightmare's tower is what replaced Julius'!

"I'll make that incubus pay!"

But what to do…

No.

Wait.

You are not some poor, unfortunate, and miserable kid!

Afraid of a forest?

HA!

Don't be stupid!

What's a dumb forest going to do to you?

Now get moving!

***The wind blows gently***

You can move now.

***Birds can be heard chirping from a distance***

"Grrr…" I glare at the forest before me. "I SAID TO MOVE!"

I finally mustered up all the courage I could and ran for it.

* * *

**-Meanwhile-  
-3****rd**** PoV-**

* * *

"Alice my dear, whatever brings you here?" asked a joyful Peter as he pranced towards Alice.

"Peter, we need to talk," she said as she dodged the Prime Minister's hug.

She felt kind of guilty leaving Alex alone at Hatter Mansion.

Alice remembered how she saw the poor girl trying desperately to take a step into the forest. She decided to leave through the secret garden, hoping that Alex would be too scared to venture into the forest alone and stay put.

Alice had a mission right now, and it was to find out the identity of the one who brought Alex to Wonderland. Maybe then, she could knock some sense into that person and force them to return Alex where she belongs.

"Of course we can. What is it my dove? Could it be you're here to express your love?" asked Peter with hearts in his eyes.

***PUNCH***

***PM FLIES INTO THE DISTANCE***

"Just shut up and listen!" Alice shouted, vein popping.

* * *

"So I doubt Julius and Gowland were lying which means that whoever brought Alex here couldn't possibly be in the Country of Hearts," said Alice while sitting next to Peter on a bench in the maze of Heart Castle.

"I might know who it is, but this is only a guess," Peter said while in thought.

"What do you mean?"

"You mentioned before how Alex fell through a black hole into Wonderland. And that nobody else was there when Ace saw her falling from the sky."

"That's right," Alice said, curious to what Peter would say next.

"Then maybe this is Nightmare's doing."

"…"

***twitch***

"Are you kidding me?" Alice asked while glaring at Peter menacingly. "This better not be a damn joke."

"What I speak is the truth. I swear. Lying to you would be too much to bear." Peter put a hand to his chest and gave Alice a reassuring look.

"Are you serious, Peter?" Alice couldn't believe that Nightmare of all people would want Alex all to himself.

Peter nodded in response.

"Nightmare is the only person I can think of who can do such a thing. Do you think he's in love with her? Like my love for you?" Peter spoke with a serious look on his face.

"There's no way," Alice said in disbelief.

There's just no way.

* * *

**-1****st**** PoV-**

* * *

In the end, the direction I ran in was the way back into Hatter Mansion.

My cowardice knew no bounds.

Pitiful.

I had decided to teleport to Heart Castle to meet with the most beautiful woman in Wonderland.

"She would know what to do!"

"Who would?" asked a familiar voice from behind.

I turned to see Vivaldi standing a few feet away with a surprised look on her face.

"So you did make it to the Country of Clover. What good news," she said with delight. "Alice told us you came. We were afraid you had forgotten us since you never showed up."

"I'd never forget you," I said while running up to the lovely woman.

Vivaldi smiled.

"We see you've cut your hair. It suits you well."

"Oh, t-th-thanks," I said as a slight blush crept across my cheeks.

I then remembered why I came.

"I want to talk to you about something."

"Then let us chat over tea," she said while leading the way.

* * *

"Men are such pitiful creatures," Vivaldi said after hearing my story. We were sitting outside with a lovely view over the balcony. Different selections of tea and sweets lay before us. It kind of reminded me of Blood's tea parties, but these felt somewhat more elegant.

I had told her about how Dee and Dum are in love with Alice and how I had just recently found out from the twins that Blood is as well.

Vivaldi then let out a light chuckle.

"Peter White is also in love dear Alice. And we do believe that Ace has taken a liking in her as well. Such foolish men indeed," she said then took a sip of her tea.

My eyes widened in surprise.

Alice is popular.

"So much competition," I said while rubbing my temples.

"Why bother getting involved? We should let the men deal with this themselves."

"Well that's because I promised Dee and Dum that I would help them. I'll be going back on my word if I don't do this," I answered then sighed.

"We see how dedicated you are to your task, but it would be a shame to work so hard for something that'll only result in failure. After all, Alice already…"

Vivaldi suddenly went silent.

I gave her a quizzical look.

Work so hard for nothing?

And Alice already what?

"Vivaldi?"

She suddenly snapped out of whatever thought she was in.

"Oh, right. Nevermind what we said. We wish you good luck."

"Ah… okay…" I said, not feeling comfortable with that strange smile on her face. It's like she knew something.

"Would you like some more sweets?" Vivaldi asked in a sugary voice.

"Okay," I responded nervously.

Does she know something that I don't?

Wouldn't be the first time someone did.

* * *

After saying my goodbyes to Vivaldi, I decided to take a walk through the maze. It was actually kind of fun.

"I might know who it is, but this is only a guess," said someone in the distance.

"What do you mean?" then asked a familiar voice.

Alice?

I slowly crept up to the two and found Alice and a man with white bunny ears talking to each other while sitting on a bench.

He looks familiar… Oh right! The man from the ball back in the Country of Hearts.

That has to be Peter White.

"You mentioned before how Alex fell through a black hole into Wonderland. And that nobody else was there when Ace saw her falling from the sky."

"That's right."

"Then maybe this is Nightmare's doing."

Wait… what?

I stayed hidden behind the hedge, hoping to not be seen or heard.

"Are you serious, Peter?"

"Nightmare is the only person I can think of who can do such a thing. Do you think he's in love with her? Like my love for you?"

"There's no way."

What are they saying?

That Nightmare brought me here.

Really?

Then… Has he been lying to me?

I pulled the purple vial out of my pocket. It was now a quarter full.

"I still can't seem to grasp how she can't go back if she doesn't have the vial," said the white rabbit.

That's right. I never did tell Alice that I finally received my vial… and Nightmare was the one to give it to me.

Realization suddenly hit me.

Nightmare was the only person who seemed to know anything about what was going on.

And he had my vial.

That incubus… Why?

* * *

**Thanks for reading chapter 6. I hope you all enjoyed~!**


	7. 7: Lord Pedo?

**Chapter 7 is up! Please R&amp;R~**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

**If I did, who knows what hell would break loose XD**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

And so, it was time for the assembly.

I waited patiently alongside Blood and Elliot for Alice and the twins to appear.

They were definitely taking their own sweet time.

"Sorry we're late," said an exhausted Alice as she dragged her feet across the floor. Just what happened to her?

I then looked at the two adult males prancing towards us from behind her.

Just who the heck are they? New role holders?

"Not at all, my dear," Blood said while giving Alice one of his signature smiles. "Now that we're all here, let's be on our way."

"Wow! We thought Big Sis was small, but sister's super tiny," said the man with the ponytail. They then stood really close to me while eyeing me with great interest.

"Excuse me?" I said, not really sure what was going on.

Alice sighed and put her palm to her head.

"They're Dee and Dum."

***pause***

"Wait, WHAT? !" I shouted in disbelief.

I then turned and looked back and forth between one grinning twin to the next.

"You're WHO now?"

"Sister, how could you not notice us?" said the twin with red eyes as he pouted.

"Well sister is stupid," said the blue-eyed twin with an expression of someone who had lost all hope.

"An' tiny."

"An' super dense."

"Don't forget slow."

THEY REALLY ARE THOSE ANNOYING BRATS!

"Blah blah, I can't hear you," I said while covering my ears. I stomped away towards the rest of the group.

My gawsh, this doesn't make any sense at all!

* * *

**-CHAPTER 7-  
-LORD PEDO?-**

* * *

I looked around at all the people who showed up for this assembly thing.

There was the dormouse being bullied by that stupid cat- wait. Did Boris just stab Pierce with a fork?

He's holding a knife too? !

Let's ignore, ignore, ig- oh! It's the princess!

Vivaldi is really pretty in that suit. And the white rabbit is with her too.

Oh? He's running over here rather quickly.

"Alice, my dear! So lovely to see you here," he said as he pounced after her.

***PUNCH***

"Peter, don't you dare," she said as she glared at the fallen bunny.

Well that smarts.

Blood snickered from the side.

I sighed then turned to see a familiar face.

It's him.

I walked over to the man with a lizard tattoo on his neck. He was carrying some paperwork.

"Hey there," I said while giving him a small smile.

"Why hello there. How have you been since we last met?" said the man as he smiled back at me.

"I've been much better thanks to you. I'm glad I could see you. Wanted to apologize for drinking your blood though… I'm sure it must have shocked you," I said bashfully.

"It's all right. All that matters is that we're okay in the end."

Wow. This guy talks and looks so mature.

"Oh by the way. Your name is…"

"Gray. Gray Ringmarc. And you're Alex Garsel, right?" He asked as he continued to smile at me.

"That's right. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

I wonder why I feel so shy around this man.

"Why is it that you treat him so nicely, but you're always mean to me? How unfair of you," said an all too familiar voice that belonged to an incubus who I've been dying to talk to.

"Nightmare," I said in a foul voice as I looked at him in disgust.

"Nightmare!" shouted Alice as she marched towards us while glaring at Nightmare.

"You have some explaining to do," she said as she crossed her arms.

I crossed mine as well.

"Indeed you do. I'd just LOVE to have a word with you… A few actually."

"Allow me to join in, Alex."

"Oh you are all too welcome to, Alice."

"Wait! Hold it! Why are you two so mad at me?" Nightmare asked while freaking out. "What did I do to make you two hate me so much?"

"You're worthless," said Alice.

"You took away Julius. Give back Julius," I said.

"Yeah, we want Julius. Ahaha~"

"Shut it, Ace!" I shouted while glaring at the knight who was now standing beside me.

"Well that's not nice," he responded then frowned.

"I can't believe you! Are you a pedophile?" Alice then asked Nightmare.

"A w-what?" asked the incubus in disbelief.

"He's definitely a rapist," I pitched in.

"I AM NOT!"

"Lord Nightmare… what have you done?" asked Gray as he placed his hand over his forehead in disbelief.

"A rapist?" Alice gasped. "Nightmare! You're proving to be worse than Peter!"

Alice then spun to look at me.

"Did he do something to you? If he did, I'll make him pay tenfold."

"Wow, you really screwed up," a surprised Ace said to Nightmare. "I didn't know you were into children."

"I AM NOT A CHILD YOU STUPID KNIGHT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Hot damn, what a good show. I'm starting to look forward to this stupid assembly," said Boris as he held a crying Pierce and watched the scene take place.

"Hey sister! Did this dummy touch you all weird like?" asked Dum as he and Dee came walking over.

"Why are you guys butting in?" I asked in an annoyed voice.

"Please. Hold on for just one moment," said an exhausted looking Gray. "Can someone just explain what is going on here?"

"This man," Alice started while pointing at Nightmare, "Is a pedophile!"

"I'm innocent!" he quickly said while placing his hand against his chest.

"You're a rapist!"

"A pervert!"

"I thought I told you not to butt in!"

"Did you touch our sister in weird places?"

"Let's kill him, brother."

"No one's killing anyone."

"I need you all the calm down."

"I'm gonna tie you up and burn you alive!"

"Alex! That is no way to talk. I'll be the one who beats some sense into him."

"The hell's going on here?"

"Woah, did you actually pass moves on Alex?"

"He did WHAT?"

"N-n-n-n-nooo! Don't drag me towards the scary twins and knight." ***cries***

"Where are you guys coming from? !"

"You better explain yourself."

"I said to please calm down."

"Ellie, save me!"

"HOOOOOOOOOOLD IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! ! !"

***pauses***

We all stare silently at Nightmare as he gasps for air.

"Really… WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? !"

***COUGHS UP AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF BLOOD***

***stares at the incubus who is now lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of his own blood***

"I.. uh… You know, I just don't have the will anymore," I said as we all shared one same thought.

What a pitiful person.

"Lord Nightmare! You can't. Not when the assembly is so close to starting," Gray said in dismay as he kneeled beside Nightmare.

He's still alive, right?

"Wanna poke him?" Dee asked Dum.

"Don't you dare," Alice warned the boys.

"What the hell happened?" asked a confused Elliot.

"Did he do anything to you?" Boris asked me while looking a little irritated. Pierce seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Other than being an overgrown baby, a liar, and the giver of migraines, not really," I responded.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when Nightmare would become a player. Hitting on little Alex," Ace said as he patted me on the head.

"He didn't hit on me," I said while shooting a glare at Ace. This was one of the rare times when a pat on the head didn't soothe me.

"He hit on you?" asked a now alarmed Elliot.

"He did NOT hit on me."

"The hell is he thinking? You're just a kid."

"Oh my freaking gawsh, Elliot! Will you please open up those large ears of yours?" Are these idiots deaf?

"And I'm not a kid," I added.

"But sister's so small."

***twitch***

"I hate you! I hate both of you so much," I said while pointing at the twins. "Why do you two get to deny the laws of physics and get so freaking tall? That's so unfair."

"Laws of what?" asked the now confused twins.

"Honestly, you guys… You're all acting like A BUNCH OF IDIOTS! JUST SHUT UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

We all stared at Alice with wide eyes.

Looks like she snapped.

We all quickly said our goodbyes and started to part ways.

An angry Alice is a scary Alice.

* * *

**-At the end of the first meeting-**

* * *

"Not fair… Why did I get kicked too? Especially since she's obviously talking to them about me," I said in dismay while staring at Alice, Gray, and the now revived Nightmare from afar.

"And that meeting was boring as hell," said Boris as he stretched then yawned. "Always is though."

"Always is? You mean you've sit through this torture fest before?" I asked the cat in disbelief.

"You have no idea. We've gone through a lot of moves after all."

"I don't know how you do it."

I sighed. Really was boring here.

"Nya, okay," Boris said while taking my hand."

"H-hey, what are you doing?" I asked while staring at him in surprise.

"We're going out. No fun staying here," he said as he beamed at me.

"No way," I argued. "You're always bullying me."

"Hey Alex, wanna go on an adventure~?" said a jolly Ace who was walking up to us.

"Boris! Take me! Now!" I shouted while panicking.

"Nya? !" meowed the confused cat.

"Hurry now if you want to live!"

I then squeezed the hand that held onto mine and we dashed away as quickly as we could.

* * *

**And this concludes chapter 7. Hope you enjoyed~.**

**Poor Nightmare… XD**


	8. 8: Discovery

**Here's Chapter 8! Please R&amp;R~**

**Disclaimer: I do not, have not ever, will not ever own Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice.**

**Sadly… *goes into my little corner* :P**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

**-3****rd**** PoV-**

* * *

"So. Care to explain yourself?" Alice asked as she sat in Nightmare's office.

After she saw Alex and Boris leave, she asked if she could speak with Nightmare privately about what she had learned.

Gray looked through some paperwork as she and Nightmare continued with their chat.

"All right. I admit that I was the one who brought Alex here," Nightmare said while scratching the back of his head.

"Why? You don't mean to say you-"

"Wrong," Nightmare quickly said while frowning then cleared his throat. "I harbor no feelings towards the young lady. So please don't label me as a pedophile."

Alice had a very unpleasant look on her face.

"Alice, I didn't bring Alex to this world for my own benefits. I brought her at the behest of someone else," Nightmare said then looked Alice in the eyes. "At first, I disagreed with this person's request. But then I had a look into Alex's life, and that changed everything. I decided to grant this person his foolish request and bring her here."

"But she has a sister over there. Who's ill. It's wrong to separate them like this. Especially since we don't know how long her sister has left to live," Alice argued.

"I know how you feel, but Alex needs to stay."

"Ugh, she needs to be with her sister."

Alice stood up in anger and placed her hands on her hips.

"She can't," Nightmare said while rubbing his temples.

"And why not?"

"Because she'll die," Nightmare finally admitted.

A look of pure shock was seen on Alice's face.

He didn't want to say it, but he couldn't have both outsiders against him. And maybe Alice could help him persuade Alex to stay.

Gray stopped what he was doing and looked at Nightmare.

"What do you mean she'll die?" he asked.

"If she goes back, she'll kill her."

* * *

**-CHAPTER 8-  
-DISCOVERY-**

* * *

**-1****st**** PoV-**

* * *

"Okay, so any ideas?" I asked, glancing at everyone around the table.

Boris, the twins, and I were sitting in a sweets shop – enjoying some cake and tea – while discussing our plans to hook Dee and Dum up with Alice.

"I don't know, Alex. If the Hatter has the hots for Alice, then these guys might not stand much of a chance against him," Boris said while deep in thought.

The twins frowned.

"Yah, there's no way we can go against boss," said a sad Dum.

"H-hey now, remember this. The race isn't over until the fat lady sings," I said while trying to cheer them up.

"Sister's stupid," said Dee. "We don't know any fat ladies."

***facepalm***

"Oh my gawsh, you guys… It's called a figure of speech."

Boris laughed nervously.

"But really, how does Alice feel? Maybe these two have a chance if she doesn't have the hots for the Hatter."

"Well I don't know. If you haven't noticed, I'm not very good at this."

"Oh so sister's finally figured it out."

"Shut it, Dee."

"Then maybe one of us should find out," Boris suggested.

"How?" the twins and I asked in unison.

Boris sweat-dropped.

"Well how about one of us tries talking to her," Boris started as he lifted his index finger. "Alice can be pretty easy to read. Just ask her some questions about Dee and Dum and their love rivals. Then ask how she feels about you all. Pay attention to how she reacts to each question. She might give away some hints."

"Sounds boring," Dum said as he finished up his cake.

"I agree~"

"I'm not very good at reading people," I said while sipping my tea. Of course, I didn't order any sweets because of my certain condition.

"Seriously…? Are you guys really trying?"

"Ah!" A thought hit me.

"Nya?"

"Why don't you do it, Boris?" I asked.

"Why me?" Boris asked while pointing at himself.

"Well think about it. I'm dense, slow, and bad at reading people. Then there's these two," I said while pointing at the twins. "They'll just screw it up."

"HEY!" they both shouted, looking hurt.

"Well it's true. We've pretty much butchered everything so far," I said while shrugging.

"But that's cause sister's missions are stupid," Dee complained.

"Well SORRY for having stupid fantasies- I-I mean ideas." I pouted and looked away.

"Geez, well what makes you think I'll be able to pull this off?" asked an unpleased Boris.

"Because you're good at this," I responded.

"What now?"

"You're good at handling women," I explained while remembering what Boris has done to me in the past. "You're definitely an expert in this field. You have experience, and you know how to wrap a lady around your finger."

Boris blushed at what I had said.

"N-now hooold it. The way you're saying it makes me sound like I'm some kind of playboy."

"Aren't you a playboy?"

"No!"

* * *

After a while of bickering we finally came to an agreement. Boris would be the one to figure out if Alice had a special interest in any of the roleholders.

Eventually, it was just the twins and me. After leaving the sweets shop, Boris spotted Pierce and suddenly dashed after him.

Poor Pierce…

"We have to go back soon, don't we?" I asked the twins, dreading the assembly so much.

"Yah, this stinks," replied Dum. "If only we didn't have to go."

"Big Sis will be there though."

"Yah, I can't wait to see Big Sis."

Ah… They're getting farther away. Since they're now "adults", it's harder to keep up with them. It's not fair that role holders get to change their age like that.

"Big Sis is real pretty in that dress. Right, brother?"

"Mhm~ She's pretty in everything."

"You guys... You're too fast," I said while quickening my pace.

**hehe~**

I stopped and spun around quickly to see where that laugh came from.

Only faceless walking about.

"…"

Maybe I imagined it?

I turned to see that the distance between me and the twins had widened greatly.

"Hey, wait for me."

Suddenly, a hand was placed over my mouth, and I felt myself being dragged away.

* * *

**-3****rd**** PoV-**

* * *

"What does this guy want with her?" asked a worried Alice.

Earlier, Nightmare explained how Alex's sister believed that the only way to save her was to take her life. Either that or give her to this guy who's supposed to be crazy.

Alice believed this way of thinking to be ridiculous.

"Well it seems like he's in love with her," Nightmare responded.

"Wait. So you're saying he's in love with her, so he made her sister go mad. And now she's out to kill her if she doesn't hook up with him?"

"That's right. Kind of silly if you think about it."

"More than silly," Alice said while slamming her hands on Nightmare's desk, causing his coffee to spill. "That's just plain stupid. And what's even more stupid is what you said after that."

"What do you mean her sister's just a corpse being controlled by this lovestruck madman?"

"I mean that her sister died a few years ago," Nightmare said as he cleaned up the few drops of his beloved coffee that had spilled. "Her soul was trapped in her corpse though by some magic that guy used. If you were to see her in her current form, you'd understand what I mean."

"Ugh… We need to tell her the truth."

"Not yet. She's not ready," Nightmare said as he gave Alice a stern look.

"What do you mean not ready? This is serious," Alice said while glaring at him.

"It's too fast. If we tell her now, she'll want to go back to figure out a way to free her sister's soul."

"But it's-"

"Which is why we wait for him."

"For who?"

"The one who asked me to bring her here. He might know a way to fix this."

"That's right. You did say something before about it being another role holder who asked you to bring Alex here," Alice said while thinking back. "Who is he?"

"Someone you'll meet in time. We just need to patiently wait."

"But how do we know we'll meet him in time? Blood said that you don't get to choose which country you move to," Alice said while frowning.

"Oh he'll definitely be here," Nightmare said while giving Alice a reassuring smile. "After all, he works around the clock."

* * *

**-1****st**** PoV-**

* * *

"Hey honey~. It's been a while," said a weird young man as he cornered me against a wall in an alley.

"I'm not your honey," I said while glaring at the man.

Just who is this guy anyways?

Caramel hair and red eyes… Is he a role holder?

But something feels off…

"Aww are you still angry with me? I apologized after all," the man said as he lifted my right hand and kissed.

I quickly yanked it away and shoved him back.

There was a surprised look on his face.

"I don't know you, so leave me alone," I said as I started to walk away.

He then forcefully grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me back towards him.

I yelped in pain.

"Why are you treating me like a stranger?" he asked as he stared at me blankly.

"I don't think we've ever met. You must be confusing me with someone else."

"No, no, no. That's not right," he said as he tightened his grip on me.

I winced in pain as I watched him mumble to himself.

Is this guy insane?

"Let me go! You're hurting me," I shouted, wanting to leave.

"Sister," I heard one of the twins call out from afar.

"Dee! Dum!" I called out.

"Dammit, you really don't remember me?" the man asked as he started dragging me away.

I tried pulling myself away from him, but to no avail.

Whoever this guy is, he's really strong.

"Dee-"

"Shut up! They're going to think you're crazy."

***twitch***

"I'm crazy? ! The heck do you mean by that?" I asked while glaring at him. "I'm stuck in a world where everyone is crazy! So I doubt anyone's going to think I'm-"

***kiss***

***freezes***

"Gonna shut up now?" the man asked while giving me a bored look.

***twitch***

***PUNCH***

***grabs***

How the heck did he stop my fist? !

"Sister!" shouted the twins as they finally found me.

This jerk…

"What are you doing to sister?" asked an upset Dum as the twins readied their blades.

"Well, well~. Looks like I'm caught."

HOW DARE HE KISS ME AGAINST MY PERMISSION? ! ? !

"We're gonna make you pay for taking sister away," said Dee.

"Well I guess it's time for us to-"

***HEADBUTTS***

"GYAAAAH!"

While falling backwards onto the ground, I could hear the true pervert crying in pain.

"Jesus, why? !" he screamed as he held onto his poor, aching head.

Dee and Dum stared in amazement.

"Sister's really hard headed huh?" asked an impressed Dee.

"Be quiet," I said as I also held onto my head. That hurt.

The man suddenly leapt back as daggers flew at him from above.

The twins and I stared in surprise as Gray landed in between us and the pervert.

"I apologize for being late," he said while staring the pervert down.

"Tch fine! We'll meet again," he said then vanished into thin air.

The heck.

"Wow~ Is he a magician?" asked an amazed Dum.

"The pervy magician. That's what he is," I said then sighed.

I looked up to see Gray hold out his hand for me.

"Allow me," he said as he gently took my hand and helped me up.

"Thank you," I said as I gave a small smile.

This guy looks mature.

"Why's the lizard here?" asked Dum as he and Dee walked towards Gray.

"Lord Nightmare sent me," he responded.

Huh? Looks like the time changed to night.

_**When the day turns into night…**_

Aura?

_**Mortals weep. They run in fright…**_

Everything around me started to grow dim.

_**With fear comes man's abomination…**_

Aura! She's standing over there.

I started to walk towards her.

_**For she shall rise…**_

What she's saying… I feel like I've heard it before.

_**with great… temptation…**_

_**Darkness looms around…**_

Ahh… I'm tired…

Everything around me grew dark as I could feel myself drift away.

* * *

**Aaaand that's it for chapter 8. Thank you for reading. :D**

**Hope you enjoyed~!**


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